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Saturday, February 25, 2012

Nadia Neuman Winner Featured in StyleLab's Red Carpet Jewelry Suite!

NADIA REIGNS ON THE 2012 ACADEMY AWARDS RED CARPET

Australian Jewellery Designer wins Global Design Competition!

Australian jewellery designer Nadia Neuman has been awarded one of the most prestigiousinternational jewellery awards with her design ‘Tyger Tyger’ to be launched at a suite as part of the 2012 Academy Awards in February.

Neuman won the Master Jewellery award in the Sustainability category as part of Rio Tinto’s Global Design Competition. The competition had a record number of entries from the US, Canada, Australia, India, China and Hong Kong across four categories of jewellery design and was judged by an elite panel from the fashion and jewellery industries. Her piece along with the other winning entrants will be part of Stylelab, a Red Carpet Celebrity Suite hosted by US jewellery expert Michael O’Connor and attended by some of the biggest names in Hollywood plus their stylists in the lead up to the Oscars on Sunday 26 February.

Neuman’s piece is a hand fan that melds together functionality and luxury all from a sustainable perspective. The fan features 18ct yellow gold panels of tiger print, surrounded by white diamonds set in 18ct white gold frames displaying black, iridescent feathers with diamonds set along each quill.

In addition to using 100% sustainable materials in the design, the Tiger motif represents nature as an endangered creature and reminds its user of the need to care for the earth. The fan can also be worn as a necklace.

Submitted to “Sustainable Jewellery” category, is a breathtaking and glamorous ladies fan, inspired by the themes of beauty and wild-spirit in nature, and glamour, mystery and adornment in culture.

“TYGER TYGER BURNING BRIGHT, IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT” William Blake: 1757-1827, “The Tyger”.

Neuman said, “It is a great honour to be recognised in this competition among so many other well known international jewellery designers. And to be given this special introduction to some of the worlds’ most glamorous celebrities is a once in a lifetime opportunity for an Australian designer!”

Nadia is no stranger to the limelight having been recognised with a host of Australian design awards already including the Harper’s BAZAAR Diamond Guild Australia Jewellery Awards and the Australian Jewellery Awards held by the Jewellers Association of Australia.

About Tyger, Tyger - from the Designer:

"I have been inspired by the design brief, to create a unique piece of jewellery using entirely sustainable materials which is both supremely glamorous, yet functional. As a young(ish) woman and soon to be mother, ethical issues of sustainability, including recycling and renewable resources are of great importance to me. I feel we all have a duty towards future generations, to ensure we leave them the world in better shape than we found it – the world should be better, not worse, for us having been in it. We should aim that our legacy is always one of improvement rather than simply depletion and this should be true in all fields of human endeavour, not just science and medicine.

It is critically important as the world’s population will continue to increase that all aspects of production focus on the notion of “sustainability”. From the period known as “the enlightenment”(approx.1650-1750), through to the industrial revolution which followed, the majority of human activity has proceeded as if all resources were infinite, and their depletion and pollution could go on forever. We now know that is not the case and we must implement the notion of sustainability wherever possible. It is paramount to the health of the planet and it our responsibility to protect and preserve whatever we can – for ourselves and our descendants.

This being the case, I have taken particular delight in trying to show that we can fulfil the moral obligation of “sustainability”, without sacrificing one little bit of creativity, glamour, desireability, luxury and mystique. I feel this has all been achieved in this design called “Tyger, Tyger”, as well as the functionality of a working, foldable, ladies fan. The exotic Tiger motif, encapsulates so many things which are perfect for such an item: The Tiger represents nature and an endangered creature. In this sense, it stands for the world we have inherited, used and neglected and need to care for – it and its habitat, needs to be protected and “sustained”. In the aesthetic sense, the tiger represents beauty and feminity, strength and independence and of course, a wild and untamed spirit – all things which are desireable in the design of a bold and striking piece of jewellery."

The sustainability jewellery movement is fast growing in popularity as consumers become more aware of the power of their purchase. According to a recent trend report titled Green Marketing and the Luxury Consumer, the consumers with the big bucks, particularly women, are increasingly looking to a company’s environmental practice before a purchase.

Neuman says, “Since the movie Blood Diamond we have seen a steady increase in clients wanting ethically sourced materials and of course, to ensure that the diamonds are conflict free. The typical ‘green’ jewellery consumer is no longer a fashion-challenged hippie but more likely an affluent professional woman who wants to make her purchase count.”

Mondial is a family run business with over 100 years of collective experience. Founded by Nadia’s parents Fred and Maria Neuman in the 70’s, Mondial are recognised worldwide as pink and coloured diamond specialists selling some of the world’s most rare and luxury pieces from their Strand Arcade and Queen Victoria Building boutiques.